I sure hope Rudy gives Cato more minutes without lowering Yao's. Cato has been a monster on defence and rebounding. He is becoming the Rocket's Dennis Rodman, except for the attitude. Rudy should subsitute Yao with a PF and leave Cato in for an additional 5 minutes per game. This will still leave the big CATO with energy to do what been doing on the court lately.
Well, it seems we are talking about this all the time. Eventhough he is playing much better this year and filling his role well, I still remember the underachieving Cato of seasons past. There is no regular scenario in which Cato will play along side Yao. You can think up some strange ones, but there are no regular ones. So, Cato will get more minutes only at the expense of Yao. For one, Cato's offensive game always has been (as far back as his days at Iowa State) close to the basket. He does not have great hands. Notwithstanding the alley-oops that he gets (I am still amazed he can get two or three a game), he is much more of a defensive player than an offensive one. Therefore, he is not suited to be a power forward. Rudy is not going to play Yao anywhere but center on the offensive end. No room for Cato except as Yao's backup. Also, I believe that Cato's improvement this year is primarily attributable to two things -- 1) improved attitude and motivation because of the presence of Yao and 2) limited minutes allow him to go at 110% the entire time he is in there. Playing him much more or playing him out of position will reduce his effectiveness. Comparing this to season's past, be happy that we have the most effective center tandem in the league.
No edit ability, so one more post for one more thought. Yao at the power forward and Cato at center may be great on the defensive end. Yao would get a lot of weak side blocks. But give me Yao in the paint over Cato any day. On the offensive end, Yao would be less effective as a PF than as a center. He could do it, but his best position is center and as close to the basket as he can get. Cato, save put-backs and the occasional alley-oop, is not effective on the offensive end.
no he shouldn't! in (numerous) other threads it's been stated that cato/ming will only play the 5 (for maximum effectiveness), so unless they change the rules it will not happen. another reason cato has been playing well is that apart from having a good training partner, he has had all pressure/expectations removed from him for this season. the pressured to replace Hakeem has been removed (and placed firmly onto Yao's shoulders). he has more energy to spend per game in the limited minutes he gets. these are why i think it would be a mistake to increase his playing time. i actually think increasing his PT might cause him to regress a little
